


On the Ropes

by kaeorin



Series: Loki's Lullabies [142]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Avenger Loki (Marvel), Avenger Reader (Marvel), Comfort, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Gyms, M/M, Magic, Pre-Relationship, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:00:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25907722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaeorin/pseuds/kaeorin
Summary: As the newest member of the Avengers, you knew you were pushing yourself too hard, but how else would you ever measure up to the others on the team? Well. Loki has an idea.
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Reader
Series: Loki's Lullabies [142]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1678240
Comments: 6
Kudos: 168





	On the Ropes

You knew you weren’t making the best decision here. You were perfectly aware that if Steve knew what you were doing, if he knew what you were thinking and how hard you were pushing yourself, he would be sure to give you that patented The Captain Disapproves look. But patience was never really your thing. You were the newest member of the team, and sometimes it felt like you had miles and miles to go before you could even hold a candle to any of the others. 

Logically, you knew that your abilities made physical strength kind of superfluous. Your powers were in your mind. But things happened in the field. You knew you had to be ready to defend yourself when necessary, and you still left a lot to be desired in that regard. So you pushed yourself. You spent long hours training various parts of your body in the gym and ignoring the leaden exhaustion that crept through you. You couldn’t rest yet. You had too much work to do.

It wasn’t easy. Obviously. There were too many days where the aching in your muscles made you long to sit things out and just ignore your training routine for just a day. But you couldn’t. If you skipped a day, then what was the point of working your ass off the day before? And the day before that? And the day before that? So you found yourself walking a thin line between strengthening your body and completely obliterating it. 

Steve was really good at that worried, disapproving look. When he came to work out and discovered you already there, he’d fix you with a long stare. You always had to respond with a cheery grin, lest he realize how tired you were already. If his workout finished before yours, he’d come over to you and try to make conversation. He’d invite you to do something else with him: make dinner or check on Bucky or watch a movie. Sometimes you acquiesced, if only to keep him off your case on the days where you turned him down.

Maybe you started moving your workouts later and later into the evening. The others seemed to prefer getting through them in the mornings, or in the afternoons, so you usually had the whole floor to yourself. That’s how you liked it. Even though you knew that there was no way that any of them was looking at the weights you lifted, or checking the screen of your treadmill, and judging you for it, but you still couldn’t shake your embarrassed urge to keep those things hidden. At least until you could match the rest of them.

Tonight, you’d been boxing. Sort of. You had a passable form, at least compared to the videos you’d watched, but everything else about it was so foreign to you that it was frustrating. You still didn’t have enough strength in your shoulders. You made a mental note to work on that and satisfied yourself, for now, by simply bashing the punching bag until you couldn’t stand anymore. When your legs gave out and dropped you onto the mat, you didn’t bother trying to get up. It was late. You’d been working relatively hard all night. What was the big deal if you just laid here for a little while and caught your breath?

You must have fallen asleep. The next time you opened your eyes, Loki was kneeling on the mat beside you with one hand pressed to your forehead. He was...really pretty. You took a little too much pleasure in looking at him. None of the others was truly thrilled to have him around here, but you wanted to be that one for him. He indulged you when you worked up the nerve to speak to him, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that _that_ was probably all it was. Tolerance. But that was okay. It was certainly better than outright loathing. 

When he caught you looking at him, his brow furrowed. “What happened? I just found you laying here. Are you alright?”

You allowed a quiet laugh to escape your lips even as you pulled yourself up into a sitting position. Loki caught on quickly, and clasped his fingers around your arm to help you. Your hands were still all taped up, the bindings damp with cool sweat. But he didn’t make a face when he touched you, and he didn’t yank his hand away as soon as you were sitting up. “I’m fine. I was training, and then I...took a break.”

“Took a nap, more like.” His voice was dry, but he sounded amused, not judgmental. That fact gave you the courage to look up at him. He met your gaze even as he drew a finger along the edge where the tape met your skin. You hated yourself for the quick rush of goosebumps that traveled up your arm, but you still couldn’t pull your hand away. He smiled. “Why were you training like _this_?”

“I need to know how to fight.” Wasn’t that obvious? Loki knew what else you could do; several times now you’d caught him lurking nearby any time you trained using your magic. With your luck, he probably also knew how his presence made your heart beat a little bit faster, made your powers work a little bit harder. “Just in case.”

“Well—sure, but this is for fighters like Thor. You’re strong, but not _this_ strong. You aren’t going to beat anybody into submission. You should be learning how to fight wisely.” 

The words chafed, a bit, even though they did ring true. Pride made you look away from him. He must have known your mind better than he should have, because he laughed, low and rich and beautiful, and then started to carefully unwind the tape from around your hand. When you tried to pull away, he only tightened his grip.

“I can teach you. If you’d like. Fight like me and you’ll best any foe before your stamina fades.”

It sounded like a damn good deal, but why was he taking off your wrappings? You reached out to press your free hand against his to still his actions. “Well, that sounds good to me. What are we waiting for?”

But he just laughed again, this time to himself, and shook his head. “You are _exhausted_. I’m not showing you anything tonight. If you’re to be my private pupil, I want you well-rested. You’ll find that I am a _grueling_ taskmaster.”

You cursed yourself for the lovely little thrill that ran through you, and looked away from him again, but surely not before he caught some trace of excitement in your eyes. After taking a moment to draw in a breath in hopes of regaining control over whatever it was that your body was doing, you found the right reply: “Well, I’m willing to learn.”

A catlike grin curled across his face even as he pulled off the last of the tape. “I’d hoped you might be.” He brushed his fingers against the newly-revealed knuckles of your hand. What was _wrong_ with you tonight? You couldn’t help but feel let-down that he didn’t use his lips instead. You clenched your jaw and shook your head a little, but did not try to respond. Perhaps that was the best thing to do in this situation. He took your other hand, then, and unwound it just as he’d done for the first. You couldn’t help but watch. There was just something about the grace of his fingers, the way they moved. Maybe he would teach you to fight with grace like his. “There. Now go wash up. Put yourself to bed. And then meet me here tomorrow night, and I’ll show you how to really fight. But come prepared. There’ll be no napping on my time.”

“Understood.” You might have risen to your feet, then, but he was still holding your hand. You liked that. You liked that a little too much. But he looked up at you then, from beneath his lashes, and you couldn’t help but notice the way his eyes seemed...darker, somehow. You did your best to quell your racing heart and ventured a small smile at him. “I hope you’ll come prepared too. Don’t underestimate me.”

“Darling...” The pet name was especially delicious in his low voice, between the two of you, sitting so close to each other. He smiled, but it was hard to tell whether it was because of the word itself or some secret thought he still concealed. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”


End file.
